The present invention relates to an improved transporting installation of the type with belt conveyor on which are supported transport members such as skids, pallets, boards and the like.
In the prior art there are known transporting installations where transport members are supported on belt conveyors. The conveyors generally have continuous movement and are provided with release means between the conveyor and the transport member to allow desired stops of the latter. Systems have been proposed for example in which the conveyor belt is equipped above with idling rollers on which the transport members rest. Friction between the rollers and the respective support pins is greater than friction between the rollers and the transport members so that under normal conditions the transport members are entrained by the conveyor. Opposition means can thus stop the transport member by merely restraining it while the conveyor continues to run and cause stopping of any following transport members which might arrive. In accordance with an advantageous solution the idling rollers are assembled on the belt through supporting brackets constrained to the belt so as to form carriages also having side wheels for belt guidance and support. The carriage needs to be guided laterally along the direction of travel because the loads conveyed and resting on the upper rollers can cause drifting and other phenomena.
Other travel disturbances can be caused by small parts or bodies which might fall into the zones affected by the movement. In addition, it is necessary to oppose a possible rotation of the wheel supporting bracket with respect to the belt.
In the prior art various solutions for guiding the belt and keeping the carriage in the correct position have been proposed. For example, it has been proposed to equip the carriage with four side bearing wheels having an appropriate flange or equip the carriage with two or four flangeless side wheels with four shoes mounted opposite the four bracket edges or even equip the carriage with four side wheels to which a shoe would be applied on the central wheel.
The carriage bracket can be fastened to the belt with a fork passing below the belt as set forth in patent DE4123607 or it could be fastened to a support made in a single piece with the belt.
Whether made of low-friction metallic materials or with resins the shoes are a weak member of the system because the metallic structures on which running takes place are steel structural work articles with numerous joints. In addition the shoes are usually fastened to the bracket with screws so that in addition to wear, breakage and chipping there can occur loosening causing jamming with resulting need for stopping the system and consequently loss in production.
Another limitation of the known solutions is the difficulty of disassembly of the carriage from the belt to work on the parts subject to wear or breakage. Indeed, since the side wheels are received in side guide members in the form of rails shaped like the letter C, full accessibility can be had only at the heads while along the rest of the path it is necessary to remove at least one of these guide members. The general purpose of the present invention is to remedy the above mentioned shortcomings by making available a transporting installation with conveyor and transport members resting on rollers above it and which would have a side guide system for the belt and centering of the roller bracket without dragging, easy to disassemble and with improved reliability as compared to the prior art systems.
In view of this purpose it was sought to provide in accordance with the present invention a transporting installation comprising at least one conveyor belt on which are mounted at intervals carriages each equipped above with a horizontal roller for support of transport members and side guide wheels running inside parallel opposing and facing C rails for support of roller and wheels with the carriage having a U bracket fastened on the belt and with seats opening upward on the U arms for support in a zone at the sides of the roller of a rolling pin for the roller with the ends of the pin projecting on the two sides of the bracket to each support one of said guide wheels with there being between the wheels and the bracket spacers removable transversally to the pin to free a space for axial running of the guide wheels towards the center of the carriage in such a manner as to be able to shift the wheels in the direction of withdrawing them from the C guide rails upon removal of the spacers.